Before 1994 Tung Chung, on Lantau’s northern coast, was still an inaccessible farming village. Less than four years later, it was transformed into a new town and a new airport was added to nearby Chek Lap Kok. Today Tung Chung has the largest population on the island with a 760-hectare residential estate served by the MTR. Most people come here to shop at the Citygate Outlets, but there are some interesting historical sights in the vicinity too.
Annals record a settlement at Tung Chung as early as the Ming dynasty. There are several Buddhist establishments in the upper reaches of the valley, but the main attraction here is Tung Chung Fort , which dates back to 1832, when Chinese troops were garrisoned on Lantau. The Japanese briefly occupied the fort during WWII. Measuring 70m by 80m and enclosed by granite-block walls, it retains six of its muzzle-loading cannons pointing out to sea.
About 1km to the north are the ruins of Tung Chung Battery , which is a much smaller fort built in 1817. All that remains is an L-shaped wall facing the sea, with a gun emplacement in the corner. The ruins were only discovered in 1980, having been hidden for about a century by scrub.
Facing Tung Chung Bay to the southwest in the village of Sha Tsui Tau is double-roofed Hau Wong Temple , founded at the end of the Song dynasty. The temple contains a bell dating from 1765 and inscribed by the Qing-dynasty emperor Qian Long.
